How does the Chinese Communist Party govern the country?

Chapter 21

In 1984, Deng Xiaoping commented that after 1978, the Communist Party of China had done two major things: reform and opening up and one country, two systems.He has also expressed on many occasions that he hopes to live until 1997, to visit the land of Hong Kong after the return to the motherland, even if it is only an hour in a wheelchair, which proves that "one country, two systems" can work.Why does "one country, two systems" haunt him so much?Because "one country, two systems" is a concept put forward by Deng Xiaoping in order to realize national reunification, based on history and reality.

"This new thing was not proposed by the United States, Japan, Europe, or the Soviet Union, but China. This is called Chinese characteristics." "One country, two systems" in Hong Kong and Macau The successful implementation of it proves its feasibility and superiority.It is foreseeable that "one country, two systems" must be implemented to resolve the Taiwan issue.

Hong Kong and Macau have been Chinese territory since ancient times, but by the end of the Qing Dynasty, with the invasion of Western powers, they were ceded one by one. In 1840, Britain launched the Opium War and forced the Qing government to sign the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842, ceding Hong Kong Island. In 1856, Britain launched the second Opium War, forcing the Qing government to sign the "Beijing Treaty" in 1860, ceding the southern tip of the Kowloon Peninsula, which is the area south of today's Boundary Street. In 1898, the British once again forced the Qing government to sign the "Special Articles on the Expansion of Hong Kong's Boundaries", and forcibly leased a large area of ​​land in the northern part of the Kowloon Peninsula north of Boundary Street and south of Shenzhen River and more than 230 nearby islands (hereinafter collectively referred to as "New Territories") , with a lease term of 99 years.

In 1553, Portugal bribed local officials and was allowed to temporarily live in a tent on the shore of Macau.After the first Opium War, the Portuguese authorities were very envious of the status of the British in Hong Kong, and tried to turn Macau into a second Hong Kong and implement colonial rule. In 1845, Queen Maria II of Portugal declared Macau a free port in spite of China's opposition. In 1887, the Qing Dynasty was forced to sign the "Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peace and Commerce", agreeing that the Portuguese "permanently reside in and manage Macau".However, the "Treaty" also clearly stipulates that Portugal "will never cede Macau to other countries" without the consent of China.This shows that Macau is only a special leased territory, and China still enjoys sovereignty over Macau in terms of law.

After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, no matter the Beiyang government, the national government or the government of the People's Republic of China, they all made unremitting efforts for the return of Hong Kong and Macao. From 1919 to 1922, the Beiyang government twice requested the return of the New Territories at the Paris Peace Conference and the Washington Conference, but both were rejected by the foreign powers. After Japan announced its surrender on August 1945, 8, according to the No. 15 Surrender Order issued by MacArthur, Commander-in-Chief of the Far East Allied Forces, the Japanese troops in Hong Kong should surrender to China.Therefore, Chiang Kai-shek ordered the troops to gather in Bao'an near Hong Kong, preparing to take over Hong Kong.

However, due to British opposition, the United States quickly changed its mind and ordered the Japanese troops stationed in Hong Kong to surrender to the British troops.As a result, the national government lost a best opportunity to take back Hong Kong.

On the eve of the national liberation in 1949, the Communist Party of China determined the policy of "temporarily maintaining the status quo" for Hong Kong. In February, Mao Zedong explained to Soviet representative Mikoyan: "Currently, half of the territory has not yet been liberated. Things on the mainland are easier to handle, just send the troops. Things on the islands are more complicated, and we need to adopt another approach. It will take a lot of time to solve the problem in a more flexible way, or to adopt a peaceful transition method. Under such circumstances, it is meaningless to rush to solve the problems of Hong Kong and Macau. On the contrary, I am afraid that using this The original status of the two places, especially Hong Kong, is more beneficial to our development of overseas relations and import and export trade. In short, the final decision depends on the development of the situation.” It is precisely because of this consideration that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army reined in Shenzhen River, no march to Hong Kong.

History has proved that this strategic decision is not a diplomatic weakness, but a wise decision made by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which is conducive to opening up an external channel, maintaining dialogue with the United Kingdom, and breaking through the blockade and embargo imposed by Western countries on China.After the founding of New China, the British government ignored the objections of the United States and soon officially recognized New China, and published the headline "Mao Zedong has guaranteed the status of Hong Kong, and Britain will recognize the CCP within this year" in Hong Kong's "Overseas Chinese Daily". is proof.

Since then, China has repeatedly stated its policy of "long-term planning and full use" of Hong Kong. In June 1956, Mao Zedong said: "It is better not to take back Hong Kong for the time being. We are not in a hurry. It is still useful to us." In August 6, he talked about the Hong Kong issue again: "We are not going to move it for the time being.  … …Hong Kong is an important trade route, and if we control it now, it will not be good for world trade or our trade relations with the world.” Of course, maintaining the status quo does not mean that China will never ignore Hong Kong and Macau.Zhou Enlai once said to a friend in Hong Kong: "Maintaining the status quo does not mean leaving it alone forever, otherwise I will be sorry to my ancestors and my descendants."

Mao Zedong also said: "We don't move it, but we don't move it forever. Britain is at ease now, but it will not be in the future." In May 1974, when he met with former British Prime Minister Heath, he emphasized that Hong Kong should have A smooth handover.He also pointed to Deng Xiaoping and others present here and said: That is their business.

As Mao Zedong predicted, the issues of Hong Kong and Macau were satisfactorily resolved in the hands of Deng Xiaoping's generation of central leadership.And this is inseparable from the concept of "one country, two systems" proposed by Deng Xiaoping. In March 1979, when Deng Xiaoping met with Hong Kong Governor MacLehose for the first time, he made public his vision on the Hong Kong issue: "China will definitely recover Hong Kong's sovereignty at that time", but "we treat Hong Kong as a special region and a special problem. In 3, no matter how the Hong Kong issue is resolved, its special status can be guaranteed. To be clear, for a long period of time in this century and the beginning of the next century, Hong Kong can still practice its capitalism, and we can govern our society Doctrine, therefore, investors from all over the world please rest assured."

On the eve of the National Day in 1981, Ye Jianying, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, announced nine guidelines for the peaceful reunification of Taiwan.In this regard, when Deng Xiaoping met Li Yaoji, chairman of the Chinese American Association in January 1982, he said: "The nine guidelines were put forward in the name of Vice Chairman Ye (Jianying). In fact, there are two systems in one country, and the two systems can be Permitted, they don’t want to destroy the mainland’s system, and we don’t want to destroy his system.” This was the first time he explicitly used the concept of “one country, two systems.”

In September of the same year, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, known as the "Iron Lady", visited China.

Long before her visit to China, she declared that the three treaties related to Hong Kong are still valid.She also suggested that if the Chinese government agreed to the UK continuing to govern Hong Kong after 1997, the UK could consider China's sovereignty claim.In response to such remarks, Deng Xiaoping firmly expressed the basic position of the Chinese government: First, the issue of sovereignty is not an issue that can be discussed. "China has no room for maneuver on this issue." That is, the People’s Republic of China has not taken back Hong Kong after 48 years. No Chinese leader or government can answer to the Chinese people, or even to the people of the world. If it does not take it back, it means that the Chinese government is the late Qing government, The leader of China is Li Hongzhang!" Second, in 1997 China will take back the whole of Hong Kong, including not only the New Territories, but also Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula.During the talks, Mrs. Thatcher threatened that China's recovery of Hong Kong would have a "disastrous impact". Deng Xiaoping replied: If this is the case, "then we must bravely face this disaster and make a decision. I hope that from Mrs. Since the first visit, government officials of the two countries have had good consultations through diplomatic channels to discuss how to avoid such a disaster. I believe we will formulate policies that should be implemented after the recovery of Hong Kong and that can be accepted by all parties.” After this visit During the talks, the two sides agreed to start consultations on resolving the Hong Kong issue.

During the 22 rounds of negotiations that lasted two years, differences of opinion between China and the UK caused turmoil in Hong Kong, rising prices and depreciating the Hong Kong dollar. The UK attempted to put pressure on China.In this regard, the Chinese government issued a statement: If there is turmoil in Hong Kong, China does not rule out the possibility of taking back Hong Kong in advance.During the negotiations, the United Kingdom also proposed that Hong Kong should have a transition period, that is, about 1997 years from 30.The Chinese government expressed its opposition, believing that contract renewal, trusteeship, co-management, and Chinese sovereign British management are all prolonging British rule in Hong Kong and undermining Chinese sovereignty, which is absolutely unacceptable to China.With China's resolute attitude, Britain had no choice but to agree to return Hong Kong's sovereignty and governance to China. On December 1984, 12, China and the United Kingdom formally signed the "Joint Declaration" on the Hong Kong issue, which solemnly declared to the world that the government of the People's Republic of China will resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong on July 19, 1997.

At the same time, under the guidance of the "one country, two systems" policy, breakthroughs have been made in the Macau issue. When China and Portugal established diplomatic relations in 1979, the two sides reached a consensus on the Macao issue. Portugal recognized Macao as Chinese territory, and the Portuguese side will return it to China in the future. Negotiation and settlement through friendly consultations. The publication of the Sino-British Joint Statement on Hong Kong in 1984 accelerated this process.On October 10 of that year, when Deng Xiaoping received Ma Wanqi, the chairman of the Macao Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, he said that the solution to the Macau issue should also be done in accordance with the principles used to solve the Hong Kong issue, such as "one country, two systems" and "Macao people governing Macau". In 6, Portuguese President Eneas visited China and once again conducted friendly consultations with China on resolving the Macao issue, and agreed to hold formal diplomatic negotiations in Beijing in 1985.After four rounds of negotiations, the Portuguese side proposed to hand over control of Macau to China in the 1986st century.In this regard, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement stating: "Recovering Macau before 21 is the unshakable firm position and strong desire of the Chinese government and one billion Chinese people, including Macau compatriots. All claims are unacceptable." The Portuguese side immediately gave up this idea. On April 2000, 2000, the two sides signed the "Joint Statement" on the Macao issue, announcing that the People's Republic of China will resume the exercise of sovereignty over Macao on December 1987, 4.

So far, Hong Kong and Macau, which have been ceded for a long time, finally embarked on the way home, and the century-old dream of the Chinese nation finally came true.

(End of this chapter)